Tailoring Crushing Responses of Hexagonal Crash Box Filled with Additively Manufactured Lattice Structures by Assessing the Influence of Material Parameters

Author

• L. D. Lumanauw
• A. Jusuf
• M. H. Jarwadi
• L. Gunawan
• T. Sebaey
• A. Yudhanto, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

Hexagonal crash boxes offer superior crashworthiness compared to other cross-sectional geometries, and their performance can be further enhanced by integrating additively manufactured lattice fillers. This study investigates the quasi-static crushing behavior of hexagonal crash boxes filled with hexagonal close-packed (HCP) lattice structures fabricated via stereolithography (SLA). Finite element models developed in ABAQUS/Explicit, validated against quasi-static compression experiments, show discrepancies below 5%, indicating that polymeric lattice fillers provide modest performance gains, achieving a crushing force efficiency (CFE) of 20%–25%. Replacing polymeric lattices with metallic fillers, namely 316L stainless steel and Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy, substantially increases energy absorption, with Ti–6Al–4V delivering the highest specific energy absorption ((Formula presented) ) due to its favorable strength-to-weight ratio. The combined experimental–numerical investigation demonstrates that both lattice architecture and material selection critically control crash performance, highlighting the trade-off between total energy absorption and mass efficiency. These findings provide an engineering design strategy for optimizing lightweight, high-performance crashworthy structures using lattice-filled crash boxes, enabling enhanced safety without excessive weight penalties.

Recommended Citation

L. D. Lumanauw et al., "Tailoring Crushing Responses of Hexagonal Crash Box Filled with Additively Manufactured Lattice Structures by Assessing the Influence of Material Parameters," Next Materials, vol. 12, article no. 102268, Elsevier, Jul 2026.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxmate.2026.102268

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Publication Status

Open Access

Comments

Institut Teknologi Bandung, Grant None

Keywords and Phrases

Additive manufacturing; Crashworthiness; Lattice structures; Numerical modeling; Thin-walled column

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2949-8228

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Creative Commons Licensing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publication Date

01 Jul 2026